Yes!  It’s Friday!  Woo hoo!  This has been a very long week for some reason and I’m glad it’s about over.  Tomorrow, Erica and I drive to Giddings to see my mother and my sister and the bluebonnets on our way back home.  I’m looking forward to getting out even if it’s only for one day.  Hopefully I’ll be able to find some good “patches” of bluebonnets so I can take pictures and post them here.  Everyone … have a good weekend.

Okay … you can tell I’m feeling better now because I’ve had a couple of really good laughs the past couple of days … and I’ve been the one I’m laughing at!  Apparently I’m having an identity problem.  Not with myself.  With other people.  Here’s what happened. 

Next door to the place where I exercise (Curves) there is this WONDERFUL kolache shop called Mornings Kolache’s.  You’d be surprised how many people open the door to the exercise place, thinking they’re opening the door to the kolache shop.  Of course, as soon as they see a bunch of old women exercising they realize they have the wrong place. 

So … yesterday this man opens the door and walks into Curves.  He’s of Eastern Indian descent.  (You’ll understand why that fact is important in a minute).  Anyway, when he doesn’t immediately turn around and leave I say to him, since I’m working on one of the machines near the front door:  “Oh, I bet you’re lost.  The kolache shop is next door.”  To which he replies:  “No, I’m not lost.  My wife wants to join this exercise club and she sent me to find out how much it costs.”  So the owner comes over and gives him the information he wants.  And he leaves.

Then … I’m finished with my exercise about 5 minutes later and I leave.  I decide to stop and get some gas before I head home.  As I’m finishing pumping gas I see a man whom I mistakenly assume is the man who had come in the exercise club.  Yes, he’s of Eastern Indian descent.  (Now you know why that fact was important for you to know earlier.)  Anyway, he goes inside the gas station and since I had to pay inside myself (their pumps don’t take debit or credit cards) I went inside.  So I say to him:  “Well, fancy meeting you here.  Did you find out what you needed to know about Curves?”  My question is met with a look I can only describe as confused.  So then I say:  “Weren’t you just down the street at Curves asking about prices?”  To which he replies:  “No.”  So I hastily say:  “Oh, sorry!  I thought you were someone else!”  (I paid for my gas and left as quickly as possible).

Then … all was good until this evening, and this one is a real doozie!  Erica took my car to work because hers is in the shop so Mike picked me up after work.  I told him we needed to make a quick detour on the way home and go by FedEx-Kinko’s so I could drop something off.  No problem.  We get there and Mike lets me out by the door and tells me he’s going to park and wait for me.  No problem.  I go inside, drop off the fedex envelope, get my receipt, and come back outside to get in the car. 

Here’s where the problem starts … Mike drives a 2006 Chevy Malibu … black … and as I come out the door, I see a black 2006 Malibu parked in one of the parking spaces near the door.  I vaguely see someone sitting in the driver’s seat so I head straight for the car.  I open the door without really looking inside the car and discover that there are a bunch of papers and trash on the front floor board on the passenger side.  I find this unusual because Mike keeps his car very clean … and besides, I didn’t remember seeing it when I got out of the car … hello …

So by the time I got my leg in the car and was almost ready to sit down, I look at the driver … AND IT’S NOT MIKE!!  The poor guy had dark hair and a mustache like Mike and was about his size … but he had the most terrified look on his face I’ve ever seen on someone.  I quickly backed my way out of the car, apologizing profusely and hoping that I didn’t turn too red in the face!  My guess is that the guy will never, and I mean NEVER, sit in his car with the doors unlocked again!!  Anyway, I got in Mike’s car which just happened to be 2 cars down from the wrong car and Mike and I laughed all the way home. 

So like I said … I think I’m having some sort of identity crisis … oh well, maybe the rest of the week will be a little calmer.  At least, I hope so!

A husband walks into Victoria’s Secret to purchase some sheer lingerie for his wife.  He is shown beautiful lingerie ranging in price from $250 to $500, with the sheerest being the most expensive.  He opts for the $500 outfit and heads for home.

When he gets home he presents it to his wife and asks her to try it on and model it for him.  So she goes upstairs and as she’s putting it on she notices how much it cost.  Always looking for a way to have a little “spending money,” she thinks to herself:  “It’s so sheer I might as well not put it on at all.  He probably won’t even notice so I’ll just model naked for him and then tomorrow I’ll take the outfit back to the store and get a refund.”

So she tucked the outfit away, took her clothes off, and walked to the top of the stairway and strikes a pose.  He was waiting below and when he saw her he said:  “Good God!  You’d think for $500 they’d at least iron it!”

He never heard the gunshot.

His funeral is Friday.

(Hope you enjoy the joke of the week!)

For those who don’t know this little tidbit of information … the bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas.  It’s a wildflower … just grows wild … and the trip from my house to my sister’s house is a beautiful painting on land of bluebonnets in their glory.  So this weekend I hope to make a trip to Giddings.  We’ve had such warm weather throughout the state until I’m sure the bluebonnets are blooming now and if I don’t see them soon, they’ll be gone.  Normally I could wait until the middle of April to make the trip and see them, but not since it’s been so warm all “winter” (and I use that word loosely!).  Anyway, I’m planning to take my digital camera with me and take some pictures.  I’ll post them here when I get them downloaded.

By the way … I’m feeling MUCH better now.  The medicine is already kicking in.  Yipee!

Well I made a major decision today … this was day 3 of being totally off my anti-depressant … and I decided to go back on it.  I could feel myself “slipping” all weekend but just didn’t want to accept it.  Then today, when I woke up crying and couldn’t stop, I realized I still have a chemical imbalance and need to be on my medication.  Amazingly, the withdrawal symptoms were gone … but in return, the depression came back.  I actually couldn’t believe it came on me so quickly.  I felt like I was doing so good.  But that’s okay.  Anyway, it’s probably going to take me a few days to climb back up to where I need to be so if I don’t post for awhile, don’t worry. 

Chase sent us a picture of Mocha, his 5-month old male cat. It’s amazing to me how much he looks like Jasmine, my cat who is 10 years old. If you didn’t know better you’d think they were siblings:

Jasmine Mocha

See what I mean?

Well for those of you who don’t know … I’ve been weaning off my anti-depressant medication (Effexor XR) for the past 9 months.  I was diagnosed with depression about 8 years ago after having a major depressive episode where I was close to suicide.  Since that time, I’ve been on as many as 3 anti-depressants at the same time to control the chemical imbalance in my brain. 

Almost a year ago I took myself off the Wellbutrin and Klonopin because I felt I was doing better … and I have been.  But the Effexor is more difficult to stop taking.  You have to wean yourself off slowly, and I do mean slowly.  Effexor has some nasty side effects if you abruptly stop taking it.  I remember one time last year I missed a dose because I ran out of the med before my mail-order prescription arrived.  That was one of the most intensely painful experiences I’ve ever had.  My head ached like I’ve never had it ache.  I’ve had migraines that I thought were bad … but this headache was 3 times worse than any migraine I could have ever dreamt of having.  And the nausea … it was almost completely debilitating. 

So … like I said … during the past 9 months I’ve been slowly decreasing the level of Effexor I take.  I’m doing this under my doctor’s supervision, so don’t worry.  I dropped initially from 300 mg/day down to 150 mg/day.  I stayed at that level for 3 months and then dropped down to 75 mg/day where I stayed for 3 months.  Now I’ve been at 37.5 mg/day for the past 3 months, which is the lowest dosage you can take.  It’s actually the dosage they start you out at and build from there with 75 mg/day being the “average” dose most people take.  Now I’m at the point where I’m not taking anything … at least I haven’t for the last 2 days.  And I’m having the same side effects as the time I missed a dose although not quite as severe.  I guess I should be thankful for that little bit of joy, right?!

Anyway, as I sit here typing this post, my head is hurting but not too bad.  I have some slight nausea but nothing that I can’t deal with.  I’m aching in parts of my body (mostly muscles and joints) that I haven’t ached in for a long time.  But what’s REALLY driving me crazy is that I’m experiencing “wooshing” sounds in my head when I move or tilt my head or move my eyes … like glancing around when someone says something.  It’s kinda like hearing the commode flush in your head … that’s the best I can describe it.  And I get a “cold” feeling in my head off and on … I’ve heard other people who take Effexor describe this as “brain freeze.”  And I guess that’s about as good a word as any to describe the feeling.

I have to admit … I’m not sure I’m going to be able to go through with this.  I’ve been tempted twice this afternoon to go to the medicine cabinet and get out another 37.5 mg capsule and pop it in my mouth to ease the uncomfortable feelings I have.  It has a strange hold on me.  But I’ve mustered up all the strength I can and so far, I haven’t succumbed to it.  In an ironic way I can almost understand how a drug addict has trouble stopping heroin or cocaine.  But you know what’s really scary (in my opinion, anyway)?  This Effexor I’ve been taking all these years is supposed to help me lead a quality life, yet it has me trapped and doesn’t want to let go.  I have to question whether anything that affects the brain like that is really good for the brain.  You know what I’m trying to say?  I mean, this is medication that’s supposed to be good for the brain … in other words, it’s supposed to balance out the neurotransmitters in the brain that keep a person on an even keel.  But my brain doesn’t want to let go of it. 

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on my progress.  Just pray that I can hang in there for a few more days.  Maybe the pull won’t be so strong by then …

Well I’m back online again.  I think my computer got a virus because I was unable to get online for a couple of days.  Did I miss anything while I was gone???

Firefighters at Houston’s Station 23 had the chance to run with a bull early Tuesday morning when an unexpected visitor dropped by.  A longhorn wandered into the fire station at Lawndale and Broadway at about 2:30 a.m., firefighters said.

The longhorn walked in through the station’s garage door.  The firefighters corralled it into a trailer and it was transported to the Harris County Sheriff’s livestock facility in the Humble area.

No injuries were reported and no one has stepped forward to claim the longhorn.

Due to a power outage, only one paramedic responded to the call. The house was very, very dark, so the paramedic asked Kathleen, a 3-year-old girl, to hold a flashlight high over her Mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby. Very diligently Kathleen did as she was asked.

Heidi pushed and pushed, and after a little while Connor was born. The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom. Connor began to cry.  The paramedic then thanked Kathleen for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-year old what she thought about what she had just witnessed.

Kathleen quickly responded, “He shouldn’t have crawled in there in the first place.  Smack his butt again!”

That’s a hard question for me because Texas has so much to offer; and I say that with all sincerity, not just because I was born here.  One of my favorite places is northeast Texas (your old stomping grounds) … Tyler, Lufkin, Longview … the forests are beautiful and the terrain is small rolling hills.  I also like what is referred to as the “hill country” in central Texas, although I would not live in Austin (the capitol) because it’s just another big city.  But Fredericksburg and that area is nice.  And the northern part of Texas is referred to as the plains … Amarillo area.  Also, I think a lot of people have a mistaken idea about Texas and think it’s all tumbleweeds and desert-like.  Well, some parts of West Texas are (Midland, Odessa) but then the further West you go (I’m thinking El Paso) you get the Franklin Mountains, and we’re talking real mountains.  Then if you settle along the Gulf Coast, of course you have flat land and beaches.  So you can see that Texas has a variety of terrain to select from.  I guess it would depend on what you wanted.  Me personally … I’m sick and tired of flat flat flat flat!  I could go the rest of my life and never see another beach and I’d be happy! 

But back to your original question, I’d probably settle in northeast Texas because you get to see the seasons change although not as dramatic as the New England or mid-West area.  (If there’s one thing I loved about living a few years in Indiana, it was seeing all FOUR seasons.)  Down here in La Porte, we see slight summer, summer, hotter summer, and warm spring.  We do have maybe 2 weeks a year of what some might consider winter but most people would not consider it winter.

Anyway … I’m glad you checked in.  I’ve gotta get outta here for now.  I’m headed on my way to exercise class.  Keep in touch.  Give Mary and the girls my regards.

Just thought I would check in to see how everyones doin. Hope you guys are all well. I am still lookin at rain everyday it seems like. I know you guys need it worse than we do for sure, please take some of it! We have had so much that when the Sierra snowpack starts to melt they are telling us now to expect flooding….nice…. icing on the cake. Everyone here is busy as usual, kids are all in school and we are workin like always. I am gettin full up with California, my middle Melissa goes to Sacramento State and she lives on campus so she drives our 4X4 Chevy whereever she needs to go and do you know it has been broke into twice in the last month. Needless to say its in the body shop now because the last thief was a beginner and broke more than he got away with. I have had it its time to go! I almost had Mary talked into moving to Texas but she said to wait till my youngest Megan is out of High School…3 more years…ughh! Oh well I guess it gives me time to get things in order. Sara I know you guys have been lookin for another place to move, let me ask you this so I can have a good point of view from the Texas side: If you could live ANYWHERE in Texas where would it be?  I mean even if its in the middle of nowhere (which I would prefer) where would you think would be the best place to go. I have been to lots of nice towns in Texas and I used to live in one but a second opinion would be nice. Well I gotta get some shut eye so I can get up and do it all again in the morning. Hope everyone is well.

 Mike

Well not much going on as far as myself … but Mike and Erica had an orienteering meet this weekend just north of Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Erica took a day off work Friday and left that morning with the team.  Mike got up and drove up there early Saturday morning.  The weather there was horrible!  It was thunderstorming (continuously) and the temps varied between 40 degrees and 55 degrees.  Not the best orienteering weather, to say the least.  The thunderstorms were supposed to continue until this evening when they will start moving south and hopefully end up in our part of Texas (we need the rain, too, since we’re under a burn ban).  Anyway, Mike called me about 9:45 last night and said he was headed home and would be here around 11:30.  The weather was just more than he could handle, I guess.  This morning he woke up feeling kinda puny so we stayed home from church.  And that’s a recap of my “exciting” (ha ha ha) weekend.  How was yours?

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners.  As he came to the door of one house he found himself walking into a beautiful garden.  He knocked and knocked and even called out, and although it seemed obvious that someone was home, they never answered the door.  So he took an index card out of his pocket and wrote REVELATION 3:20 on the card.  He stuck it in the door and left.

When the offering plate was passed the following Sunday, the pastor noticed his card had been returned.  But added to it was a cryptic message that read GENESIS 3:10.  Reaching for his Bible to check out the scripture references, he broke up in gales of laughter because here is what the scripture references said:

REVELATION 3:20 – Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

GENESIS 3:10 – I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid, for I was naked.

(I got this via email from a friend today and thought I’d share it with you.  Hope you enjoy it.) 

I’ve decided old age is a gift.  I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not my body!  No no no!  Sometimes I despair over my body … the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.  And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don’t agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family … for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  As I’ve aged I’ve become more kind to myself and less critical of myself.  I’ve become my own friend.  I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie or for not making my bed or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need but looks so avant-garde on my patio.  I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant.  I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon … before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it anyway if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4:00 am and sleep until noon?  I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60’s and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love … I will.  I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body and will dive into the waves with reckless abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.  They, too, will get old one day.

I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten, and I eventually remember the important things.  Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car?  But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs forever etched into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.  I can say “No” and mean it.  I can say “Yes” and mean it.

As you get older it is easier to be positive, too.  You care less about what other people think.  I don’t question myself anymore.  I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.  To answer your question … I like being old.  It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time.

The weekend is over (boo hoo hoo) and tomorrow things are back to the same old routine of work.  Hope ya’ll had a good weekend.  Mine was really good but very tiring so this post is going to be short.  If ya’ll get a chance, check in and say “howdy” so I don’t feel so left out! 

Three little words that work …  “Hold on, please …”
Saying this and putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.  Then, when you eventually hear the phone company’s “beep-beep-beep” tone, you know it’s time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.
Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end? 
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.  This allows the telemarketer to determine the best time of day for a “real” sales person to call back and get someone at home.
            What you can do after answering and noticing that no one is there is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone … 6 or 7 times … as quickly as possible.  This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system.  Gee … what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer …
Junk Mail Tips

1. When you get “ads” enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these “ads” with your payment.  Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away!
   
2. When you get those “pre-approved” letters in the mail (for everything from credit cards to mortgages, etc) don’t throw away the return envelope.  Most of those come with postage-paid return envelopes, right?  Well, it costs them more than the regular 39 cents postage IF and when they receive them back.  It costs them NOTHING if you throw them away!  The postage was around 50 cents before the last increase and it’s determined according to the weight.  In that case, why not get rid of some of your OTHER junk mail and put it in those cool little postage-paid return envelopes?
3. You can also send an ad for your local dry cleaners to American Express.  Send a pizza coupon to Citibank.  If you didn’t get anything else that day then just send them their blank application back.  If you want to remain anonymous, make sure your name isn’t on anything you send them.
4. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just annoy them.  It still costs them 39 cents.
5. The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk mail back in the mail … but we need to OVERWHELM them.  Let’s let them know what it’s like to get tons of junk mail … and best of all, they’re paying for it … TWICE!

Let’s help keep our postal service busy since they say that e-mail is cutting into their business profits and that’s why they need to increase postage costs.   Hmmm … if enough people follow these tips, it might just work …

Whew!  What an evening this has been!  We just got back from Cingular where we got Mike’s mother a cell phone.  I added her to my “Family Share Plan.”  She decided recently that she needed a cell phone because when she’s on trips with the senior citizens’ group, she needs a way to call us to have us come pick her up.  (The courtesy phone they were using at the Senior Center isn’t there anymore.)  Mike had been thinking about getting her one anyway, so … it has been an evening where my patience is wearing thin!  We got the phone with the least whistles and bells we could but it’s still almost too much for her “alcohol caused dementia” brain to understand.  Anyway, we finally fixed it where it goes directly to the list of our names in the address book and all she has to do is highlight the name and press SEND.  We’ll see how it works … keep checking back with me because I can already envision some pretty good stories that will come out of this one!

Someone sent me an email the other day.  It had chalk drawing pictures by an English artist named Julian
Beevers.  He travels the world, drawing 3D pictures on sidewalks.  They're illusions and a lot of times ...
as you will see from the pictures in the slideshow ... he stands to the side of his drawing and it looks like
he's a part of it.  Anyway, click on the link below to get the slideshow.

http://rockyou.com/viewslideshow.php?instanceid=12871938&refid=12871938